County Board Oks New Tax Quadrants

May 06, 1986|By Charles Mount and Patrick Reardon.

In a step toward reassessing Cook County property every two years instead of every four, the county board unanimously approved a plan Monday to realign the county`s four real estate assessment districts.

The board voted 15-0 to redraw the boundaries of the districts, called quadrants, so that the City of Chicago is contained in two quadrants while all the Cook County suburbs lie in two others.

The eventual aim is to assess the entire city one year and the suburbs the next. Under existing practice, one quadrant is reassessed every year so that it takes four years to reassess the county. In addition, each quadrant contains part of the city plus some suburbs.

Because property values have tended to increase--often significantly--in recent years, quadrennial reassessments have resulted in dramatically higher assessed values being placed on property, leading to the shock of often sharply-higher real estate tax bills.

Reassessing property every two years could lead to smaller but more frequent tax increases.

``A two-year system makes assessments more accurate and avoids the big jumps in assessments that have occurred,`` said County Assessor Thomas Hynes, who sought the altered quadrant boundaries and said he favors biennial reassessments.

Redrawing the quadrant boundaries means that the assessment year will be changed for 19 of the county`s 38 townships. Some will be reassessed sooner, while others will be reassessed later--five years after their last

reassessment rather that four years.

Although county officials hope that a new biennial reassessment system can be introduced by 1990 or 1991, the board did not set a date.

Hynes warned that he will need additional computer capacity and staff to put in a new system. He also wants time to study if biennial reassessments are feasible and cost effective.

The failure to set a specific date for biennial reassessments disappointed two organizations of suburban officials.

``We had requested a definite date and a stronger commitment than that,`` said Rita Athas, assistant director of the Northwest Municipal Conference, representing 29 north and northwest suburbs.

``We would be very concerned if they didn`t follow through with that pledge,`` to begin biennial reassessments, said Beth Ruyle, executive director of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Conference.

Athas said that in the northwest suburbs, 21 of her group`s 29 municipalities will have a five-year gap between assessments. This means that homeowners could be jolted with even higher tax bills after the next reassessment.

``If biennial reassessment is the end product, OK. If it`s not, why go through the problems?`` Athas said.

Ronald Picur, Chicago city comptroller, agreed.

``The board should not commit to just the realignment of the quadrants,`` he said, ``because the five-year gap may lead to taxpayer lawsuits.``

Although redrawing the quadrant boundaries caused some problems, it also provides benefits to 39 larger suburbs and school districts that were formerly in more than one assessment quadrant, Hynes said. Each is now in just one quadrant, so that all of its taxable real estate will be assessed in the same year.

Under the new schedule, here is when city and suburban townships will be reassessed:

Three suburban townships that were reassessed last year--Proviso, River Forest and Riverside--won`t be reassessed again until 1990 when they will be included with the group of south and west suburban townships.